[E3 community blogging contest winner: Rio McCarthy takes a look at the games from each of the major three presentations and awards points to each one of them.]
This post is going to be extremely long as there was a lot to write about. If you don’t care to read the whole thing I have put the titles I discussed in bold so you can easily find them.
Every year I either watch the E3 conferences or check diligently on the updates online. This year I had the great fortune of doing both, granted reading Destructoid for all the updates was much more informative.
I’ll be giving the conferences points for the games and announcements I was interested, so let’s see who ends up the winner on my scale. While watching all three conferences when they were live I took notes of what my very first impressions were on the announcements and here they are.
-Microsoft Conference-
Fallout 3 (+3)
I have yet to play a Fallout game unfortunately, but I think that will now have to change. I’m a major RPG fan and always willing to give things a try, but when I saw the new VATS system I know I’ll definitely have to try it. I’m usually a turn based game girl, but with the ability to target what body part you wanted to attack without wasting a ton of time in-game totally wins for me. I also knew I had to try it when I saw a girl get shot in the chest by a teddy bear with a “Rock-It Launcher”.
Fable II (+3)
Dropping in on us in October of this year is Fable II. I originally wasn’t overly excited for this game until after seeing footage of it. There were a couple of things I thought especially neat including the ability to have dogs as pets and the orbs so that you can pull in friends to your world. Though, my first thought is that if you pull in a friend and he or she does something a person in your world doesn’t like, wouldn’t it mess up your relationship with the person in your world? This would definitely be a bummer if you were working hard on impressing a certain person and it all got messed up that easily. Another thing is Peter Molyneux stated that the game is finished now, so why are they waiting until October? I mean I’m all for making sure the games are actually ready to go and not buggy, but if it’s truly finished why not release it earlier since there are already so many holiday releases?
Resident Evil 5 (+3)
Resident Evil is always a series I like to see prosper and this time is no different. Good ol’ zombie shootin’ action is about the only type of shooting I actually like to do in videogames. Granted, these aren’t going to be the slow foot dragging zombies it’s still going to be awesome. The fact that it’s co-op especially wins for me as I like playing games co-op a lot. Also it launching on March, Friday the 13th of 2009 just makes me giggle inside. I love when games launch with a purpose 😀
Gears of War II (+0)
I have never been a fan of Gears of War so just take this for what you see. If you like the game that’s absolutely fine of course, I just personally never enjoyed it. This new one looks pretty much the same as the old one to me, just with double chainsaws and hostage action. I’m sure people who were actually interested though were thrilled with it.
Galaga Legions (+4)
This game announcement gave me a very iffy feeling about it. That is, until I heard that it was done by the same team that did the wonderful work on Pac-Man Championship Edition. It’s supposed to drop next month, so I’ll definitely be giving it a chance myself, as it definitely looked intriguing at the least.
Portal: Still Alive (+5)
This made me so incredibly happy. As long as they keep this true to how the first one was I’ll be ecstatic. It actually brought a tear to my eye to hear GLaDOS talking to me through the TV to let me know about the release. I can only imagine how it felt hearing it in person. I’m totally excited for this and can’t wait to see the new levels.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (+5)
I do still wish this was actually called Banjo-Threeie, but I am so freaking excited for this game it’s ridiculous. I absolutely LOVED the Banjo-Kazooie games since they came out many moons ago, and it’s about time that we get a revival. Even if there are vehicles and such added it still looks just like the same old platformer I knew and loved, even up to the music that I freaking hummed for so many hours.
-Original Classic released on Live Arcade-
To hear that the original Banjo-Kazooie will be released on Live Arcade makes me so happy. I own both of the original games on N64 but will still buy it again on Live Arcade. This is great so that anyone that for some reason didn’t get to play it before will get a chance to see how great this game is now. This is one of the few games from that era that really still work for me and still look great.
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (+5)
There will now be 100 varieties of Pinatas thanks to the Pinata Vision cards that you can put across the Live Vision Cam. Viva Pinata was the first game I sat through and did every single achievement for, including spending over 50 hours in the game. I personally can’t wait for the new one to come out and will be all freaking over it as soon as it does.
Scene It Box Office Smash (+1)
I didn’t get to hear too much about this but I thought the original Scene-It was OK. It’s more fun if you get to play with friends, so if you can play online with people this will be awesome, if not I’ll totally pass.
You’re in the Movies (+0)
This again looks like a game that would be fun with friends, but since I unfortunately don’t play games with people in person that often I think I’ll probably pass here too. It does come with a Live Vision Camera though, so if for some reason you don’t already have one it’s nice that you don’t have to pay a ton extra. Granted, I haven’t seen how much this is going to retail for when it comes out, so you might be paying extra either way. Making your own B movies would be fun, but I can’t imagine it being that great without friends to enjoy it with.
Guitar Hero World Tour (+4)
I really wanted this but was trying to keep myself on an “I don’t care” basis until I read you can use Rock Band instruments with it. Now that I’ll be able to actually afford it when it comes out in the fall I’m much more excited. I’m glad to see it’ll be shipping with 85+ songs as well as numerous things for downloadable content, including an REM track pack that includes 3 songs from their new album. I love that you can also create your own music. 8 player Battle of the Bands stuff will be awesome as well.
Lips (+4)
From the get-go it looked like a Singstar rip off to me. Though don’t get me wrong I love Singstar and about every other karaoke game on the market. But it is from the creator of Elite Beat Agents and Gitaroo Man so I have great hopes. The fact that I can use my iPod to add in new songs makes me excited but I’m still not sure how well that will work… I’d love to know if it can actually read the pitch and whatnot of the songs. Though it does come with wireless mics and I’ve wanted that for a long time. They also light up and are motion sensitive, so can they be used with Rock Band? I hope so! Also, who the fuck is Duffy and why does she sound like an Amy Winehouse wannabe? Who wants to be that?
Rock Band 2 (+5)
They mentioned that it premieres exclusively on 360 this September so is just coming to other consoles later? Anyways 84 songs on the disc and every single one is an original master recording which makes me extremely happy. I’m probably the only one, but I was extremely excited for the announcement that Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” will be RB2. Guns N’ Roses will also have their song Shackler’s Revenge from the Chinese Democracy album that’s FINALLY seeing the light of day. ACDC also totally made my day as well as Motorhead. I’ll be excited to see what the 20 bonus pre-download songs are. All downloadable tracks from the original Rock Band as well as all of the songs on the original disc will be compatible with the new game and that makes my freaking day [Editor’s note: It’s not exactly clear what the situation on the olds songs are yet. — CTZ]. I’m now officially excited for this beyond belief.
-Square Enix-
Infinite Undiscovery (+4)
This will be the first title to be able available from SQEX on 360 this holiday. Dropping in on us on September 2nd here in the States it totally makes me even more excited. Then again I tend to like being raped in the face by Square Enix apparently.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (+1)
Comes out in Spring of 2009. I’m kind of intrigued but probably not going to buy this one on launch day.
Last Remnant (+5)
OK I am sooooo excited to try this one out. November 20th is just near enough to my birthday that I can’t wait to treat myself to this and damn it better be good. The graphics looked absolutely beautiful, and I’m pretty sure I heard Johnny Yong Bosch as the “main character?” so that makes it even more win. Also, I’ll so buy this as a Games for Windows release whenever they decide to put it out. I loves me some RPGs on PC.
Final Fantasy XIII (+0)
Eh… this didn’t really affect me in any way. I have a PS3 and 360 and I’ll gladly buy it on both, but for my own personal tastes I have a feeling I’ll like it better on PS3 with that controller and whatnot. Seems weird to just do a 360 release in America and Europe though, but whatever makes them money I guess. 🙂
Mortal Kombat vs. DC (+1)
I’m still not insanely excited about this game, but then again the only DC characters I really pay much mind to are from the Batman universe. Once it comes out I might rent it and give it a shot but I’m not too terribly thrilled with it yet.
Dashboard Update (+0)
Well I’m not exactly impressed with the avatars as I can do that already on my Wii and that’s good enough for me. I look forward to trying to win money with whatever the trivia stuff they had planned was. The Netflix thing is kind of neat but doesn’t really phase me too much as I don’t have a problem watching movies on my computer with my current set up.
Microsoft Total: 53 Points
-Nintendo Conference-
Shaun White Snowboarding (+1)
GOD DAMMIT I can’t stand Shaun White… Kind of average graphics, but the premise looks nice. It’s kind of neat especially since you can use the balance board.
RANDOM QUOTE: I always like to see what Iwata has to say: “There is danger in standing still.” –Iwata
Animal Crossing: City Folk (+5)
I’m so excited for this game it’s ridiculous. In the Happy Room Academy you can see what other players are doing which I can’t wait to test out. There are stores where you can buy and sell your own items. You can change your hairstyle as well as put on a mask to look like your Mii. I’m super excited where you can send letters to friends with attached pictures and they can even go to the message board or cell phones. We also FINALLY get in-game chat! With WiiSpeak you’ll have a community microphone so that everyone in the room can talk. It will set atop the Wii sensor bar. I soooo can’t wait for this to come out. I need it. I need it now. 😀
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (+2)
The art style for the game is pretty neat but I’m still not completely sold on it. There are head to head lightsaber duels though which is awesome. Doing force pushes with the controller does look pretty neat too. This will be out this holiday so I’ll have to at least rent this one.
Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party (+3)
Looks pretty much the same as the other ones to me but still looks fun. You can use the Wii Balance Board so that’ll be a nice touch to add some more functionality and fun to it. I probably won’t buy this at launch, but it’ll eventually go along with the other Rayman’s in my collection.
Call of Duty: World at War (+0)
Oh yay… Call of Duty on the Wii again. Again, shooters and war games aren’t my thing so pay no mind if you’re into it. There’s Wii Zapper support, so that’s neat but technically every shooter can in a way have support for it, can’t it?
Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades (+1)
I’m not really interested in this because I didn’t think the design for the first one on DS looked that appealing to me. There is song sharing between versions of the game though so if you’re playing with a friend that doesn’t have this version you can play songs from both. Looks like it’ll still give you as many hand cramps as the first one.
Spore Creatures DS (+4)
The DS version will have a unique and different design. The Creature Creator is used with the stylus so you have an easier way to work on your creations. You can share creatures with your friends and they can even end up in your game.
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (+5)
This is the sequel to the first Pokemon Ranger. Sadly I’m actually excited about this because yes I still play Pokemon. I got pretty frustrated at first but it was still pretty fun. I hope to see this one do well. 🙂
Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars (+0)
I’m also not a fan of GTA and bringing it to the DS just made me shake my head and laugh. Not because I think GTA is ruining the youth of today by any means but I just thought it was funny to of all places bring it to the DS.
Misc. DS Functions (+2)
I find it kind of weird that they’re almost trying to turn the DS into some sort of Palm Pilot device of sorts, but if you already own it then the added features at least seem intriguing. Getting flight info on your DS would personally be helpful if I ever flew out along to get somewhere as I tend to get nervous when I don’t know where I’m going and I almost always have my DS on me. The Cooking Navi I would at least like to try out since I’m a horrible cook. It’d be nice to have a pocket sized cook book instead of a giant cumbersome monster of a book. The Cooking bit is supposed to come out in November, so that’ll be a plus for anyone who has to cook holiday dinner for the first time.
Wii Sports Resort (+4)
OK so Disc Dog was incredibly cute but her whole point of the presentation for this part didn’t need to be about this. I’m excited to try out this new beach edition of Wii Sports as surprisingly I played a lot of the original. I am nowhere close to being a sports fan but I really enjoy it. Jet Skiing looked a lot like Wave Race (Which I loved!) and I can’t wait to try out the Sword Dueling. I’m glad to see Wii MotionPlus comes with this but I’ll still be interested to see how much it retails for. Though I am excited to see how much different Wii MotionPlus is from the original motion sensoring.
Also, Reggie needs to be in a fighting game so his finishing taunt is: “That’s why they call me the Reginator!”
WiiMusic (+5)
This game/simulation has received a lot of shit and honestly I think it looks really neat. I’m the type of person who would really like to take the time to learn an instrument so that I could make my own music but just don’t have the time. The fact that you can simulate music and make your own music with over 50 instruments really works for me. There’s no way I could ever afford to own all of those instruments or have time to learn to play them so I’d love to be able to easily do it this way. I like that there are lessons available as well as the fact that you can record separate parts and put them all together as a song. People don’t give Mario Paint such shit for having a song creator, so why is this getting so much flack? Also the fact that they played the Mario theme, total win for me. Also… COWBELL! 😀
Pikmin 3 (+5)
I’m so excited I can’t wait for a new Pikmin game! ‘Nuff said!
Nintendo Total: 47 points
-Sony Conference-
I liked that Jack Tretton took the time to show how long it took for some of the most anticipated, or popular, titles to reach both the PSX and PS2. I am in no way a fangirl for any of the “next-gen” consoles, as I sit around and play my SNES more than any of them, but I knew Sony would pull something worth while out of their ass eventually. Just give them time.
Also… I wish someone could hit them for every time the word “Future Proof” was mentioned, and this goes for any of the companies.
Eternal Sonata (+4)
I freaking loved this game on 360 so I can’t wait to play it again with added content. I’m really excited to see this drop in the Fall and will definitely be there to pick it up. This would have scored them 5 points, but the fact that I have to re-buy it because it was already out before made them lose a point.
Resistance 2 (+5)
Again I’m not a shooter person but damn this game looked nice. People kept saying how “beautiful” Gears of War 2 is, but I think this game far surpasses it. Using the Rocket Launcher to shoot rockets into the giant monster’s mouth as he’s grabbing you just looked awesome. I never played the first Resistance but it now makes me want to go back and give it a shot. With 8 player co-op I think that’d be extremely fun to try and maybe I wouldn’t suck so bad if I had 7 other people there with me.
Numbers Presentation (+5)
The presentation in which they used LittleBigPlanet to show off all their number information I thought was genius. That was definitely the least boring presentation I’d ever seen and could sit there all day and listen to him talk numbers if I got to see Sackboy run around.
LEGO Batman PS2 Bundle (+3)
OK this would have gotten more points from me if it were LEGO Batman branded somehow… Like if there was even just an image of LEGO Batman (or the Joker, yes, please? 😀 ) I would have bought another PS2 just for that. But I do like to see bundle packs so it’s nice that it comes with the LEGO Batman game and the Justice League: New Frontiers DVD.
Playstation Network (+4)
I like that you’ll now be able to sign in anywhere. Though I think they might have already started the process as I got an email yesterday that asked if I wanted to join my Underground and PSN IDs, so at least they’re starting to roll on this.
Ratchet and Clank: Future – Quest for Booty (+5)
This game looks freaking amazing for it only being a PSN release. It will be $14.99 which I would gladly pay for a game of this caliber. It apparently will be shorter since it’s at a lower price but I’ll be glad to see what goes down since it’s suppose to pick up where Tools of Destruction left off.
Also, amen brother:
“We’re not interested in filling up our store with games people don’t want to play just so we can say we have more games”
Crash Commando (+1)
Not sure that I would actually play this. If there were a demo I might give it a shot, but it didn’t look to be my thing too much from the short clips I saw. The graphics looked very nice though.
Fat Princess (+2)
This looked kind of intriguing but I have no idea what you’re doing. Are you trying to protect a fat princess? Anyways, again it looked nice but I probably won’t play it.
PAIN Amusement Park (+4)
Again, I’m not even for sure what you’d do in this game, but the fact that in the trailer a girl kept getting hit repeatedly in the face by the roller coaster seat made me laugh incredibly hard.
Flower (+5)
This game looks gorgeous and the fact that it’s so creative looking looks to be my cup of tea. Apparently you’re placed as being a flower petal, which is something I can definitely say I haven’t been in a videogame before so I’d be very interested to try it out.
Siren: Blood Curse (+4)
I’m glad to see this coming to the American PSN as I played the demo for it on the Japanese PSN and it scared the crap out of me. Granted I’m not that good with horror games but it was neat nevertheless.
Ragdoll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic (+5)
Anything with Ragdoll and Kung Fu in the title I would play in an instant. I can’t wait to punch people and watch them wiggle around all ragdoll across the screen. YES!
All of the games were very graphically pleasing and looked to be very high quality. I was really glad to see this be the trend on PSN.
Gran Turismo TV (+2)
This doesn’t really affect me a whole lot but it would be neat for the people who have Gran Turismo 5: Prologue if they’re interested in watching car shows. Though I wasn’t quite clear on if it was pay-per-view, which I assume? In that case I hope they’re relatively cheap or it’d suck a bit. It’ll be available August 1st though so I guess we’ll see soon enough.
Playstation Home (+2)
I still really want to see what Home’s all about but the fact that Tretton said “You will be rewarded for your patience when it comes out” kind of terrifies me. How much longer will we have to wait? Granted if it actually works well by the time it comes out, I’d wait.
PSN Video (+5)
This will be kind of neat, though I’m not sure how much I would actually use this feature. It’s nice to see Sony (of course), Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Funimation, etc. get behind them in this effort. I’m excited to see what anime shows up. Prices seem really good for everything so I might try it out. I like that there is a new tab so that you can easily go and look at them. They’re up now and ready for download. I like that you can also watch them while you’re downloading. The normal time to receive a movie is an hour.
PSP
Resistance Retribution (+4)
It looks really nice and if I were into shooters I’d try it out for sure. It looked to be a nice portable alternative to the PS3 game.
Patapon 2 (+5)
I loved the first Patapon and can’t wait to play the next one. This is one of the most creative titles I’d played this year and totally deserves a sequel.
Loco Roco 2 (+5)
This is another creative game I really liked and can’t wait to play a sequel for. The video for it looked neat and I’d like to see what new things are in the new one.
Super Stardust Portable (+5)
Super Stardust HD was awesome on PSN and I’d love to have a portable version. This looked just as awesome as it’s PS3 counterpart and I can’t wait to pick it up.
Buzz! Master Quiz (+1)
The Buzz! game wasn’t bad on PS2 but I don’t know that I’d actually play a PSP version of this. I think it’d be more fun with friends, which you can probably do I’d imagine. I probably wouldn’t pick this up though.
Star Ocean: First Departure (+5)
I’m totally excited to see this remake of the first Star Ocean and will definitely pick this up.
Star Ocean: Second Evolution (+5)
I’m just as excited for the remake of the second one and will be picking it up as well. Yay portable Star Ocean! 😀
Playstation 3
Life with Playstation (+3)
It would be kind of neat to be able to check out the news, weather, etc. while you’re on your PS3. With the kind of weather we have here it’d be nice to be able to quickly tell if it’s storming and I need to shut things down and whatnot. I think it’ll be a nice feature to have on hand if needed but I probably wouldn’t use it that much.
DC Universe Online (+4)
After hearing that you cannot actually be DC characters I was pretty bummed, though not all is lost as I can still be on the dark side. Apparently you can only play as your made up character, but you can play either the hero or the villain. So, even though I can’t be the actual Joker I’ll definitely be trying to align myself with him as a female Joker-esque style character.
LittleBigPlanet (+5)
I’ve been so ridiculously excited for this game even before I had a PS3. Any game where I can create my own stuff I could sit and play for hours. This will definitely be no different since it has the incredibly cute Sackboy. I so so so so so can’t wait for this game and I’ll be running around screaming with excitement when it’s finally out.
MotorStorm Pacific Rift (+1)
I didn’t play the original one so this doesn’t really phase me but a lot of people have told me they liked it so I guess those people will be excited.
Quantum of Solace (+2)
It’s based on the new James Bond movie. There have been good Bond games before, but this one being based off the movie I’m not sure how much I’ll like it. We’ll see though I’d definitely be up for giving it a shot.
Socom Confrontation (+0)
Not my thing in the slightest but I’m sure those who like Socom will enjoy it.
Ghostbusters (+5)
I can’t wait for this game. I’ll definitely be picking it up and I can’t wait to see the giant Stay-Puff’d Man.
Soul Calibur IV (+5)
I’m sure you’ll be able to do this on both consoles eventually but I’d really like to try fighting as Darth Vader for some reason.
Star Wars Force Unleashed (+5)
This game looks really awesome and a lot has already been said months ago about this game so I won’t touch on it long. I can’t wait to do the Force pushes and pick up all kinds of crazy huge shit. It shall be epic.
Madden NFL 2009 (+0)
Not a sports fan, so not excited for this. Though, YAY Brett Favre on the cover!
The Agency (+3)
This at least looks relatively neat but I probably won’t be playing it, but it does at least look fun.
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Ninja Storm (+4)
I’m sure this will resemble Naruto on the 360, but thankfully this one’s supposed to finally go through the entire first series of Naruto. I really want to play this as I did actually like it on the 360 and would like to see a game that finally goes further.
Mirror’s Edge (+4)
This game looks gorgeous and I would really like to try this one out. I really dig the art style used and would like to see it played in person. I might end up picking this one up if I get to see enough of it before it comes out. If not it’ll definitely be a rent so I can give it a try.
Singstar (+5)
I’m always a fan of karaoke games and there’s like 5 that are coming out this year, if not more. I’m excited to see what songs are on there but since I somewhat collect karaoke games I’m sure I’ll end up picking them all up eventually.
NBA 09 the Inside (+0)
Again, not personally interested at all on this one.
Buzz! Quiz TV (+2)
This would probably be more fun here than it would be on PSP so I’m glad this will be a PS3 version. I won’t be picking it up but it’d be fun with a group of friends.
Killzone 2 (+2)
It looked neat, but as usual I’m not into shooters. I’m sure if you were a fan of Killzone it will definitely be your thing. It looks very nice though.
inFAMOUS (+4)
It looked really nice and I’m always up for a good superhero game. It’s awesome that you can decide to be a hero or anti-hero depending on your choices in the game. I like that there was a mix between a comic book look and an actual in-game look within the trailer. I really want to try this one out as it totally looks up my alley.
MAG (+3)
This game supports 256 players which seems like it’d be kind of hectic and confusing. Then again I get confused no matter how many people are in my shooter, being as one of the many reasons why I don’t play many shooters. It looks like it would be a neat experience though if it can work well without much lag.
God of War III (+5)
“In the end… There will be ONLY chaos!”
Kratos is such a badass, especially in HD. It was a massively short trailer but even the bricks falling from the building made me excited. I can’t freaking wait for this game. It looks amazing even if it was just a short teaser and I definitely can’t wait now.
Sony Total: 148 points
So let’s look at the tallies:
Microsoft Total: 53 Points
Nintendo Total: 47 points
Sony Total: 148 points
Alright, so I find it kind of weird that the company who had the most boring presentation last year (Sony) is now the winner of this year’s E3 for me. Though I do realize that several of the games listed on all sections are multi-platform games but I just went with what I saw during the conferences. This post took way too many hours to write and do images for so I hope you took the time to read it. 🙂 Again, this isn’t coming from a fangirl point of view in any sort because I play SNES more than any of these platforms so feel free to read it from an open point of view.
So let’s hear your thoughts. Did any of you feel the same way I did on these games?
